23=.Brian Cox, Musician, scientist and broadcaster

Pin-up particle physicist, whose CV includes work with the Large Hadron Collider and with the band D-Ream (for whom he played keyboards), Cox is now best-known as a broadcaster and populariser of science. He uses Twitter to promote his latest work, to gossip and, primarily, to discuss science – with experts and non-experts alike. The most academic discussions tend to be the most entertainingly robust.

Tweets as: @profbriancox PeerIndex: 78 Authority: 78 Activity: 38 Audience: 89 Follows: 107 Followers: 623,325